A network element, such as a router or a switch, may include service modules that process packets. When the network element receives a packet at an ingress interface, the network element may send the packet to one of its service modules to render specialized services for the packet (e.g., hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) caching service, intrusion detection system (IDS) service, load balancing service, firewall service, etc.). Upon rendering the services, the network element may drop the packet or send the original or modified packet to another network element through one of the egress interfaces.